By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
AIMING FOR a $5 billion trade volume, Türkiye and Nigeria reaffirmed the target on Tuesday as discussions moved forward during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit in Ankara.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said talks on the trade target had already commenced, speaking at a joint press briefing with President Bola Tinubu during the Nigerian leader’s state visit to Türkiye.
He said the planned establishment of a Joint Economy and Trade Committee would create opportunities to expand and support Turkish investments in Nigeria in order to meet the target.
President Erdogan praised President Tinubu’s commitment, will and determination to attract investment, describing the presence of several ministers and high-ranking officials in the Nigerian delegation as the clearest indication of that determination.
“Today, we conducted a comprehensive review of our relations with the esteemed president and his delegation in the fields of trade, investments, energy, education and defence industry,” President Erdogan said.
“Firstly, we see that we have significant potential in the fields of trade and investment. In today’s meetings, our commitment is to the $5 billion trade volume target, and we discussed the steps that need to be taken.
“We also discussed opportunities to support our investments in Nigeria. We believe that the Joint Economy and Trade Committee, which we agreed to establish today, will be instrumental in this regard.”
He said the current trade volume between both countries stood at about $2 billion. Türkiye exports planes, helicopters, machinery, iron and steel, and chemical products to Nigeria, while Nigeria exports crude oil and agricultural products to Türkiye.
President Erdogan hailed President Tinubu’s strides in the energy sector, saying they had resulted in the restructuring of Nigeria’s economy.
He expressed hope that cooperation between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian counterparts and other organisations would deliver expected outcomes.
On security, President Erdogan said Türkiye was ready to assist Nigeria in addressing insurgency, citing its own experience in tackling similar challenges.
“Terrorist organisations emerging, particularly in Africa’s Sahel region, unfortunately pose a threat to the peace of the entire continent. We stand by the friendly people of Nigeria in their fight against terrorism under the leadership of President Tinubu,” he said.
“In fact, today, we addressed opportunities for closer cooperation in the fields of military training and intelligence. We stated that we are ready to share our country’s significant experience in the fight against terrorism.
“Also, I believe that we will soon see positive outcomes from the meetings that Nigerian officials will hold with our leading defence industry companies during this visit.”
In his remarks, President Tinubu expressed gratitude to the Republic of Türkiye for its openness and willingness to collaborate on promoting freedom, stability and prosperity globally.
He emphasised the importance of building an inclusive economy, with a particular focus on vulnerable people.
President Tinubu commended the Turkish leader for being “willing to collaborate, willing to help, willing to work together to promote freedom, stability and shared prosperity across the world.”
He said, “What is very important to the countries being discussed; trade, business, no restrictions, giving opportunity to those who are ready to learn to work and prosper. How do we build an inclusive economy together? How do we reform and get vulnerable people involved in the economy? How do we ensure peace in the world?”
President Tinubu also said Nigeria would continue to play its role in promoting peace and stability in Africa despite instability around the country.
“We discussed efforts against terrorism. We discussed how to defeat agents of destabilisation,” he said.
He also praised President Erdogan’s commitment to promoting global peace, particularly efforts in Somalia.
A statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dated January 27, 2026, said nine agreements were exchanged at the end of the bilateral meeting between officials of both countries.
They included: an agreement on cooperation in the field of diaspora policy, an agreement on defence cooperation, a joint declaration establishing the Economy and Trade Joint Committee, and an agreement in the field of halal quality infrastructure.
Other agreements covered cooperation in higher education, media and communication, education, diplomacy training between both foreign ministries, and cooperation between the Ministry of Social Services of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
